Contemporary art has not always been encouraged or appreciated in Myanmar, particularly by the powers that be.
With all the hype in recent months about Myanmar ending 50 years of isolation, it bears remembering that the secretary general of the United Nations from 1961 to 1971 was a top diplomat from Myanmar.
Villagers near the Hla Blue Natebanpout and Kyite Mae Moe Khaing Gyi fish ponds in Thanatbin township are allegedly fishing at ponds leased from the regional government, said U Maung Maung Naing, owner of Kyite Mae Moe Khaing Gyi fish pond.
The members of the eight major ethnic groups of Myanmar at a meeting appeared to momentarily forget the chronic disunity and mistrust that normally characterises their dealings with each other to discuss the loss of land tenure rights.
It was 11:15am at the Union Solidarity and Development Party’s palatial headquarters in Nay Pyi Taw.
Unprecedented levels of erosion have left several historic island communities that dot the Ayeyarwady River near Mandalay in danger of disappearing.
Opposition to a Chinese and Tatmadaw-backed copper mine project in the Monywa region has escalated recently following months of simmering tension. The movement has created numerous local heroes, such as Ma Aye Net and Ma Thwe Thwe Win, dubbed the “iron ladies” in a recent New York Times article.
During her historic trips to Europe and the United States earlier this year, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had plenty of opportunities not only to educate the rest of the world about the situation in her home country, but also to showcase traditional Myanmar clothing and ethnic garments on the global stage.
The smooth graded road is lined by a metre-high earthen wall planted with young eucalypts. These trees – the only greenery for hundreds of metres in every direction – provide neither respite from the heat nor a barrier to hide the scene of desolation around us.
The target was bold, as its convenors acknowledged. “Our aim in holding this workshop is to resolve the conflict in Rakhine State,” said U Ko Ko Hlaing, an adviser on political affairs to President U Thein Sein.
